Fruit-polishing machine



May 12, 1925. 1,537,596

C. FLOYD FRUIT POLISHING MACHINE Filed 001.. 4. 1922 fz gl. 7%/

NVE/WDA?- CARoL. F n cYD. 5 YW// WDR/VU- Patented May 12, 1925*.

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To all whom -z't may concern.'

Be it known that I, CAROL FLOYD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Orlando, in the county of Orange and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fruit-Polishing Machines, of which the following is a specifcation. l

This invention relates to machines for brushing and cleaning fruit or vegetables,

. chine is particularly adapted to the treatment of citrus fruits, the term oranges will be hereinafter generally used for the sake of brevity andl not of limitation, to denote the articles treated.

Several types of machines are now employed for the cleaning of oranges, the most popular ones having one or more rotary brushes along which the oranges travel during the cleaning operation. My invention consists in the provision of means for applying material such as parailine to the brush .or brushes employed in such machines', which material is then transferred by brush or brushes to the surfaces of the oranges.

As my invention is not limited to any particular type of fruit brushing machine, nor to any particular material of which the brushes are made, I shall not*l attempt to illustrate or describe more than is actually necessary to render the inventionclear toA those familiar with fruit polishing mnchines. y

Of the accompanying drawings v Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a fruit polishing machine having my mvention app ied thereto.

Figure 2 represents an end view, partly in section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,'on a larger scale.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts in both of the views.

'Portions of the frame of the machine' are indicated at 12, said frame being provided with bearings 13 for the ends of the shafts 14 of the rota brushes 15. The machine as so far descriged is or may be of any well known or preferred type.

Below each brush and parallel therewith Aas the wearing away of the is a trough 16 ,for holding the polishing material )17, preferably parailine which, as

indicated, is most convenientlv supplied in thilaE folrm of llocks or JI'zaiesl ac troug 16 is yie ing yrsupported so that as the material 17 is worn away by the brush above it, a constant suppl of the material will be provided to enabe the brush to transfer it to the fruit being acted uponl by the upper portions-ofthe brush. To provide said support there are two transverse bars 18 suitabl the machine. onfined between the bars 18 and the bottoms of the troughs v16 are springs 19 coiled around bolts 20 which extend down through the bars. and are provided with wing nuts 21 on theirlower ends. Said nuts enable the troughs to be adjusted relatively to the brushes, the sprin s permitting ,the troughs to yield as'the rushes revolve.

In operation, assuming that parane or similar material is in the troughs as indicated in the drawings, and that the nuts 21 have been adjusted so that said material is in contact with each brush throughout its entire-length and that the springs are under ,some degree of compression', thel friction caused by the revolution of the brush in contact with the said material generates sufficient warmth to soften the material and cause it to be taken up by'the brush and by the latter transferred to the surfaces of the oranges Vwhich are travelling along the brushes on their upper portions. The sprin ensure a yieldingl para ne against-the brus until such time paraiine by the brush necessitates a new ad]ustment of the trough, at vwhich time the nuts 21 will be turned in the proper direction and to the proper extent to cause the s rings 19 to elevate the trough to a new evel. In other words, the wear of the araine can be readilyV taken up by the a justing nuts 21. Loosening of the nuts causes the sprin s 19 to automatically push the trough an contents toward the brush so that the proper amount of the paraliine or equivalent will be taken up by the brush. The nuts 21 serve the purpose'of stops to prevent excessive application of the material to the brush in case said material is quite soft due to becoming too warm, or due to any other reason.

During the rotation ofthe brush it vael pressure of the itsv connected to the frame of which helps to preserye them. G l

Having now described my mvention, I claim 1. A. fruit polishing machine having a.`

brush for actin on the fruit, and means ,for supporting bl of parailne 1n pos1t1on to directly contact lwith the brush to be transferred to the fruit by said brush.-

2. The combination withv a rotary fruit olishin brush, of va yieldingly supported Bolder or maintaining a fruit-coatmg material in contact with the brush.

3. The 4combination with a rotary fruit polishing brush, of'a yieldingly supported polished by the brush but also, at the same time, receive a coating vpo "trough e :,csmee holder for a supply of paraine in position for the brush to contact with the paraliine. L4. The combination with a rotary fruit lishn brush, of a ieldingly supported aving meansl or supportin cakes of paraine in position to contact with the brush.

5. In a machine for polishin pfruit, a rotary brush, and means for app ying para' fine to said brush, said means compnsmg ayieldin ly su ported trough below the brush an para el therewith.

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

' CAROL FLOYD. Witnesses:

W. M. Tammy, 

